Tower



- June 23, 1925.

J. w. CONRAD ET AL TOWER f A g H 1m. NW m. WM m M finmwfi Patented June 23, 1925.

UNITED STATES A 1,542,861 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WILLIAM CONRAD, or CEDARVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA, AND MILTON PRESSLEY KERR, or sEwIoKLEY, PENN YLVANIA.

TOWER.

. Application filed October 11, 1924. Serial No. 743,011

T 0 all "w 7mm it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN IVrLLiAM CON- RAD and MILTON PRnssLnY KERR, citizens of the United States, and residents of Cedarville, in the county of Gilmer and State of West Virginia, and Sewickley, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements infTowers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to towers, and more particularly to towers such as are used for supporting high tension lines and the like, and has for its object the provision of such towers with portions thereof formed or fabricated so that they will serve as part of the usual superstructure and also may be assembled to form a templet to holdthe anchor members in correct spaced relation until the superstructure is erected.

Towers of this class are ordinarily fab.- ricated in the shop and shipped to the nearest railroad station, from where they are transported by wagon or othermeans to the tower sites, the anchor members being formed and shipped separately in advance of the superstructure so as to permit them to be permanently set in the ground prior to the erection of the suporstruc'ture.

In erecting the towers the necessary excavations are made for the anchor members. The anchors are then placed and a templet attached to the anchor in such a manner as will assurethe anchors being held in correct spaced relation, after whicha quantity of concrete is poured around the anchors and the remainder of the excavation backfilled, or the concrete. filling may be omitted and a backfill of earth only be used.

It has been the common practice heretofore to use a steel templet, made'specially for the purpose, 'to hold the anchors in spaced relation, said templet being removed immediately after the backfilling and tamping is completed, the templet then being transported to the next tower site.

The'superstrueture is usually not erected immediately after completion of the anchor setting, some weeks or months having 0 elapsed between the two operations, and it has been found from experience on many tower lines that the backfilled earth settles, due to rain and other natural causes, and causes the top of the anchor members to be the anchor members in position.

To overcome-this trouble, we have provided a superstructure with a plurality of its standard partsor members designed so thatthey may be'used to form atemplet. These parts of the superstructure are shipped with the anchorage material, thus obviating the necessity of the expense of furnishing a special templet and its trans portation from tower to tower, and providmg a separate templet for each tower, which can remaln in position until the time of erection of the superstructure, thus entirely eliminating the anchor'members moving out of their correct spaced relation.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tower constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are side elevations of different forms of anchors, set in the ground and held in spaced relation by templets .formed of a plurality of the bracing mem- 3 "and 4, or may be provided with feet I r and held in position by back filling the excavations in which they are set, as in Figures 1 and 2.

The superstructure of the towers is adapted'tobe secured to. and supported by the anchors 2 and comprises leg members 5,

preferably formed from a plurality of sections secured end to end, and horizontal and diagonal brace members 6 and 7, respec tively, which extend between and are secured to the leg members 5 to stiffen the tower. V l

A plurality of cross arms 8 are secured to, the superstructure of the tower adjacent its upper end and are adapted to carry or support the wires or high tension lines.

The horizontal brace members 6 and 6 and diagonal brace members 7 a are the members preferably used to form the templet of this invention.

The towers to which this invention pertains are generally of square or rectangular cross section, and the same bracing extends up each side of the tower, and all parts are, preferably, formed of angle iron.

The brace members 6 and 6" are preferably fabricated so as to have a plurality of holes or apertures 9 therein to permit them to be arranged in pairs. In forming the templet the members 6 and 6 are arranged back to back so that the apertures 9 aline and are detachably secured together by bolts 10. The series of holes 9 permlts the securingof the members 6 and 6 together in various positions so as to form templets of various dimensions.

ach pair of the members 6 and 6 forms one side of the templet for holding the tower anchors, and is adapted to be secured adjacent its ends to the top of the anchors by bolts 12, so that four of the assembled pairs of braces 6 6 wilt square or rectangular templet. The pairs of members 6 and 6 are adapted to be tied together by diagonal braces 7 which are secured in position by bolts or other securing means.

It will be readily appreciated that since the present templet can be readily constructed on the field and that all the material used for constructing the templet is a part of the tower superstructure to' be later erected, material savings are made by the use of such templets, and, furthermore, the templet may remain in position until the SHp9fSti' 'uC ture is to be erected.

While we have shown and described the use of the brace members of the superstructure to form the templets, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limited thereto since various other parts of the superstructure may readily adapt themselves to such use.

l/Ve claim 1. A tower for high tension lines and the like, comprising a plurality of anchor members adapted to be rigidly mounted in the ground, and a superstructure comprising a plurality of leg members adapted to besecured to said anchor members, and a plurality of brace members adapted to extend between and be secured to said leg members to com plete said superstructure, a plurality of the members of said superstructure being so formed and fabricated that they are adapted to be secured together to form a templet for use in holding said anchor members in correct position until said superstructure is to be erected.

2. A tower for high tension lines and the like, comprising a plurality of anchor members adapted tobe rigidly mounted in the ground, and a superstructure comprising a plurality of legmembers adapted to be se+ cured to said anchor members, and a plurality of brace members adapted to extend between and be secured to said leg members to complete said superstructure, a plurality of said brace members of said superstructure being so formed and fabricated that they are adapted to be secured together to form a templet for use in holding said anchor members in correct position until said superstructure is to be erected.

3. A tower for high tension lines and the like, comprising stub anchor members adapted to be mounted in the ground, leg members secured to said anchor members, and a plurality of brace members adapted to extend between and be secured to said leg members to complete the superstructure of said tower, some of said brace members being provided with a plurality of apertures to permit their being secured together and to said stub anchor members to form a templet for use in holding said stub anchors in correct spaced position until said tower is erected. V

4. A tower for'high tension lines and the like, comprising stub anchor membersadapted to be mounted in the ground, leg members secured to said anchor members, and a plurality of horizontal and diagonal brace members adapted to extend between and be secured to said leg members to complete the superstructure of said tower, some of said horizontal brace members being provided with a series of apertures to permit them to be secured together in pairs of various lengths, and saidlast named brace members also being provided with apertures to aline with apertures adjacent the upper ends of said stub anchor members, so as to permit said brace members being secured to said anchor members to form a templet for use in holding said stub anchors in correct spaced position until said tower is erected.

5. A tower for high tension lines and the like comprising a plurality of anchor mem bers adapted to be rigidly mounted in the ground, and a superstructure comprising parts which are adapted to form a templet for use in holding said anchor members in correct position until said superstructure is to be erected.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

JOHN WILLIAMQQNBAD. MILTON PRESSLEY KERR. 

